Open Wounds
by redsandman99
Summary: Sequel to Broken. When Jeff finds out somebody is going through a similar experience that he had gone through with Robert, just how far will he go to help that person?
1. Chapter 1

Jeff hadn't slept in three days. Every time he closed his eyes, he kept reliving the time he had spent under Robert's control. It scared him because over the past eight months, the nightmares had gradually gone away before he had a two month period of having none at all. But now they were back in full force, and it was hard to keep himself from screaming each and every night.

Matt seemed to know, even though they hadn't actually talked about it. Jeff knew his older brother was worried sick about him and he hated it. He hated worrying Matt. Matt had spent enough time worrying about him. He wanted to be able to take care of himself.

Currently, Jeff was taping his ankles up backstage. The Great American Bash was already underway and he was scheduled to be facing Mark and Hunter in a triple threat match for the WWE title in the main event. He had butterflies in his stomach the size of baseballs. Tonight, after months of reclaiming his spot in the company, he was supposed to be claiming his second WWE championship. He was excited about it, but he was trying to contain himself. The mood backstage was somber, and he didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb by being happy.

Randy had been missing for the past four months. He had been injured in December and he had been scheduled to make his return in April. Two days before the actual return though, his wife Samantha had reported him missing. He had just left home one day and hadn't been seen since. His car had been found at the grocery store, which was where he has supposedly been going the night he disappeared. But besides from that, nobody had a clue where he was. To Jeff, it was way too similar to the way he disappeared and he tried not to think about Randy's situation.

Matt came into the locker room. "Are you ready for this match?" he asked.

Jeff nodded. "Yeah. I'm as ready as I can possibly be." He got up and made a nervous gesture with his arm. "I just…I don't know."

"What? What is it?"

"I just keep thinking about Randy man. The way he disappeared and the way I disappeared…"

"Jeff, Robert's dead. You know that."

Jeff shook his head. "Robert's not the one who kidnapped me. He bought me from the people who took me in the first place. I still don't know who those people are."

Matt sighed. "I know you don't. I know that scares you. It scares me too. But we can't know if they took Randy. Maybe he just ran off and hasn't had the guts to make contact with anyone. Maybe he was taken by someone else. We can't know Jeff. We might never know."

Jeff didn't find that particularly comforting, but he didn't have time to get into that. He had a title match to win. He gave Matt a quick hug and went towards the curtain. Mark and Hunter were already standing there.

"You ready for this kid?" Mark asked.

Jeff nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Hunter grinned. "Come on now Jeffey. Don't let the butterflies get to you. You look like you're about to get sick or something."

Jeff's music hit first, so he didn't have time to tell Hunter that he actually looked sick because he hadn't been sleeping. He went down to the ring, closely followed by Mark and then Hunter. The crowd was completely pumped up. This had been the most highly anticipated match on the card, and they knew they weren't going to be disappointed.

The bell rang, and the butterflies disappeared from Jeff's stomach right around the time Hunter clocked him in the face with a huge right hand. The shit was on right then and there. Everything was moving at lightning speed. Jeff hit the Poetry in Motion on Hunter and Mark while using the chair as a friend. Mark nearly killed himself and Jeff when he dived over the top rope and they ended up bonking heads. Hunter tried to hit Jeff with a sledgehammer but hit the referee instead. Mark power bombed Hunter through the ECW announcer's table. Jeff did the old Terry Funk standby by just tossing a chair up into the air. It ended up bouncing off Mark's skull before coming back down and hitting himself. Definitely not a smart move there.

Finally, with the second referee in place, Jeff managed to hit Twist of Fate and Swanton combo on Hunter. Closing his eyes, he listened to the three count being made. The crowd went ballistic. They had been cheering for Mark and Hunter too, but Jeff had been the unquestionable favorite. They were happy to see him have the title back.

Matt came down to the ring and hugged his younger brother. "I'm so proud of you," he whispered before breaking the embrace.

Jeff grinned. "Thanks. I--" He stopped as saw something out of the corner of his eye. There was a man in the front row who was just standing up and clapping calmly. Jeff immediately felt all his happiness disappear. "Matt…"

"I see him," Matt said. He sounded like he couldn't believe it. "I see him."

The man just smiled at the both of them. He knew that they could tell who he looked like.

The man they were looking at could easily pass as Robert's son. And to Jeff's shock and horror…the man was wearing Randy's watch.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeff was pacing back and forth. This was not the way he had pictured his night going. He had been expecting to go out with Matt and his friends to celebrate his title win. But now those plans had gone completely to hell. The past had come back to haunt him and had completely spoiled his night. "We have to do something," he muttered. He felt like he was going to explode out of his own skin. "We have to find out where Randy is. He's in trouble Matt."

Matt sighed. "Yeah, I know he is. But what can we do about it? I told Vince about the dude with Randy's watch and he told the cops. There's really nothing else we can do."

"He was watching me," Jeff said. That was what scared him the most. The guy that looked like Robert was watching me. He knows I know now. He knows that we know. That's what he wanted."

"How can you possibly know that?"

"I spent a whole fucking year chained up in Robert's basement. The guy looked like his mirror image. I think I have a pretty good fucking idea what this asshole is thinking."

"Okay, let's say you're right," Matt said. He had a deadly serious look on his face. "The guy knows that we know he has Randy. What else are we supposed to do? There's nothing that we can really do to change anything."

Jeff shook his head. That wasn't true. There was something they could do. It wasn't a good plan by any stretch of the imagination, but he knew it had to be done. "We have to go find Randy ourselves."

Matt looked at him like he was crazy. "Tell me you did not just say that. Tell me you are fucking joking."

"We have to do something! We can't just leave him there!"

"I'm not letting you put us both in danger just to save Randy Orton! We're not even friends with him!"

"So he deserves what's happening to him?"

"I didn't say that! I'm just saying that seeing as he doesn't give a damn about us and we've never given a damn about him, he's really not worth putting our lives in danger."

Jeff glared at his older brother. "You wouldn't be thinking like that if you fucking went through the shit I went through. What Robert did to me…you have no idea how that still haunts me sometimes. It's what Randy's going through right now. He's probably being tortured. He's probably being raped. And what if the people want to take me back again? What if they want to take me back into being a prisoner again?"

"That's all the more reason that you should not put yourself back into danger," Matt said. He cupped Jeff's face into his hands and made his younger brother look him in the eyes. "I am not letting you get taken away again. I know you want to save Randy. If you can think of anything that will help the police find him, then you can tell them. But I can't let you find him yourself. I don't want bad people to hurt you again. You understand?"

Jeff nodded. He understood where Matt was coming from. He also understood that Matt couldn't understand what kind of pain Randy had to be in right now. No he did not really like the Legend Killer, but his own experience in captivity had been too horrible to even go into much detail about. Nobody deserved what he had gone through, not even Randy.

That's why Jeff felt like he had to do something drastic to save Orton…even if he didn't have Matt's help after all.

XXXXXXXXX

Randy tried to break free from his chains. His wrists were still raw from all his previous attempts to do this, but he was still trying anyway, despite the pain. He had no idea how long he had been down in this fucking basement. All he knew was that if he didn't get out of here before Dale came back, he was in for a world of hurt.

He shuddered at the thought of his captor. Dale had done everything possible to hurt him. He had been tortured and raped and Dale had enjoyed the whole thing. And the worst part was, that was all Dale was looking for. This wasn't about money or hatred or anything that really made sense. This was for his own sadistic pleasure. That was what scared Randy most of all.

"Help!" Randy tried to scream. He knew it was useless, but he had to try anyway. He didn't want to get hurt again when Dale came back. "Somebody help me!"

Nobody answered him. He was truly alone. He stopped trying to struggle and began to cry. He felt like such a baby, but he couldn't help himself. He just wanted to go home. He was tired, he was scared and he just wanted to see his family again. And for some reason, he really wanted to warn Jeff Hardy of what could possibly be awaiting him. He had heard Dale muttering about the charismatic enigma several times. He knew how badly Dale wanted to get his hands on poor Jeff. Randy had heard about how fucked up Jeff was for awhile after he escaped from wherever he had been kept. Sometimes Randy wondered if this was the same place. It looked like it had been used as a torture chamber before. It wouldn't surprise him if this was where Jeff had been kept.

"Oh God Jeff, be careful," he muttered to nobody in particular. "Dale wants you bad. He wants you for what you did to his father…"


	3. Chapter 3

Dale sat down in his chair and just looked at the passed out Randy. The young man had exhausted himself trying to get out of his chains. He was weak from not being fed quite enough, but that was the way Dale liked him. He wanted Randy to be as weak as possible. It made everything he wanted to do to the poor man much easier when he couldn't fight back.

Tonight had gone as well as it could. Dale could tell he had scared the crap out of both Jeff and Matt. That was good. He wanted them to be good and scared. They deserved it for taking his father away from him. He knew they had probably killed Robert, even though there was no evidence anywhere to support this. It was just a hunch he had. And since he couldn't go to the police without exposing all his nasty little secrets, he was going to have to settle for his own brand of justice.

He took a drink of his Dr. Pepper. He knew that Jeff knew that he had Randy. Now all he had to do was sit and wait for the rainbow haired man to come to him. He knew that it would happen sooner or later. Jeff had too much good in him to leave anyone in a place like this, even a man like Randy Orton.

Now Dale knew there would be people out there who would question his decision to take Randy to get to Jeff. They would ask why he just didn't take Matt so he could really guarantee Jeff trying to save the day. But the truth was that he had wanted Randy for a long time. And originally, this had been about getting someone he had wanted. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that he really thought about using Randy to try to get to Jeff.

Besides, if that didn't really work out, he could always have Matt taken later. He did have amazing connections after all. They could hand deliver Matt to him within just three days of him asking for the older Hardy. That was how good they were.

He set his drink down and got up. He took a blindfold out of his pocket and walked over to Randy. "Oh honey," he said with a grin. He used his toe to prod at the younger man. "Wake up sweetie. I'm ready to have some fun."

Randy groaned as he opened his eyes. He blinked a few times before he realized Dale was there. The realization made him flinch violently and whimper pathetically.

Dale grinned and knelt down beside the Legend Killer. He dangled the blindfold in front of the former WWE champion's face. "I came up with a little game while I was gone. I hope you like it. It's sure to be a SCREAM…"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff waited until Matt had fallen asleep to make his move. He carefully packed some things into his bag, including the gun that Matt had gotten not long after the Robert situation was over. It was better to be safe than sorry these days. They had learned the hard way that there were all kinds of psychos out in the world these days. After getting everything packed, he wrote Matt a short letter saying that he was sorry for just taking off, but he didn't know what else to do. He tried to explain why he couldn't just sit back and do nothing, but he already knew Matt wouldn't quite get it. Since Randy was neither their friend nor family member, he wouldn't understand why Jeff would risk his life to save him. Hell, Jeff didn't even really understand it. He just knew it was something that he felt like he had to do.

He snuck out of the hotel and got in his car. He tried to control his speed while he was in the city, but as soon as he reached the city limits, he sped off like a rocket. It would be faster to take a plane, but he wouldn't be able to take the gun with him. And he knew that he was going to have to have the gun with him for where he was going. It was the only way that he was going to have a shot at getting both himself and Randy out of this alive.

_Matt's going to be furious when he wakes up_, a voice in his head told him. _He's going to hunt you down and stop you so he can keep you safe._

Jeff sighed. He knew his brother only had the best of intentions. But someone he knew was going through the hell Robert had put him through. The captor may have been different this time, but it didn't matter. Because of the auction that had led to him being handed over to Robert, he had always known that there had to be others out there that had to have suffered like he did. He hadn't known them though, so he hadn't been able to do anything about it. This time he could do something. He could finally do something, and nobody was going to stop him, not even Matt. So no matter how dumb this move was, he was going to do it. He was going to back to where it all began for him. He was going back to that cabin in the woods in Virginia. It was where Robert had kept him, and for all he knew, it was where Robert's son was keeping Randy. And honestly, it was the only place he really had to start looking. _Please God, don't let this backfire on me,_ he silently prayed. _Let me have a little luck on my side here for this one because I'm really going to need it._


	4. Chapter 4

Matt woke up and found Jeff gone. He cursed under his breath as he threw some clothes on. He should have known something like this was going to happen. It was nearly impossible to talk Jeff out of something when he truly believed he needed to do it. He would only pretend to agree not to do it and then go off and try anyway. Only this time, his fucking stubborn streak was going to get him killed. Robert's son had to be as crazy as Robert had been. With a father like that, how could he not be?

Matt grabbed his car keys and ran out of the hotel. He didn't even stop to pack his stuff. There was no telling how much of a head start Jeff actually had. It could have been a few minutes or a few hours. But either way, he had to find a way stop Jeff before his brother got to the cabin he had escaped from all those months ago. He couldn't explain why he knew Jeff was going there. It was just something that he knew deep inside his gut. Besides, it was the only place he knew that Jeff would have a clue to start looking at.

It was raining a little as Matt got into his car. The rumblings of thunder could be heard from a distance. It was going to start storming even worse soon. _It fucking figures_, he thought as he started driving. _The time I have to drive as fast as humanly possible is the night it's going to fucking storm so bad I probably won't be able to see that well._

But he couldn't waste any more time worrying about that though. He was going to have to do the best he could under the circumstances. Jeff's life depended on it. "Jeff, for the love of God, don't get there," he muttered. "Please God, make his car break down before he gets there and gets himself killed."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Even though it had been months since Jeff had escaped from Robert's cabin in the woods, and even though it took him awhile to find an area of the woods he recognized from his great escape all those months ago, he was able to find the cabin somewhat easily. It sickened him to the bone even looking at his former prison, and he really wished Matt was there with him. He didn't want to do this alone, only now he really didn't have a choice. "I can do this," he muttered to himself as he grabbed the gun and slowly got out of the car. "I can do this. I just need to go in, get Randy and get out."

Before going in the door, he peeked in the windows to see if he could see anything. When he didn't, he crept through the front door and tiptoed towards the basement. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest that he thought it was going to burst. His hands were shaking so badly that it felt like he was going to drop the gun at any second. _Come on, just do it and go_, he told himself as he opened the basement door and started going down the stairs. _I've got to get Randy and just go._

Randy was naked and chained up against the wall. He was curled up in the fetal position, his entire body shaking from either the cold or fear. Maybe it was even a combination of both. His mouth was duct taped shut and he was bleeding from several cuts all over his body.

Jeff gulped. This was an unpleasant reminder of the entire year of hell he had endured not too long ago. He knelt down beside Randy and gently touched younger man's shoulder. "Randy?"

Suddenly a gun barrel was placed directly against the back of his neck. "Hello Jeffrey."

Jeff froze in fear. _Shit!_ his mind screamed as Robert's son snatched his gun away and turned him around roughly. He had been so focused on getting Randy and getting out that he had forgotten how easy it was for someone to hide in this very big and very dark basement."

Robert's son smiled evilly at him. "Hello Jeff. My name is Dale Sawyer. We've never met before, but I believe you murdered my father." He cocked the gun and aimed it at Jeff's head. "Now I could kill you right here and now, and nobody besides Randy here will know. And he's not going to be going anywhere soon, so he won't be telling anyone what he saw down here."

Jeff shook his head. "Please…"

Dale started to chuckle. "Oh don't worry Jeff. I'm not going to shoot you in the head. That would be too quick. I'm going to draw this out for as long as I possibly can." He grabbed Jeff by the arm and yanked him to his feet. "Before we get started, I want you to tell me one thing: how did you kill my father?"

Jeff gulped. He really did not want to get into that subject. He had the feeling it was just going to make Dale really, really mad, which was not something he wanted when he was defenseless like this.

Dale growled and pistol whipped Jeff right across the face. "Tell me!" When Jeff only started to stammer and shake his head, he pistol whipped the smaller man again. "TELL ME!"

"I killed him with an axe," Jeff finally admitted. He was so afraid that he was shaking terribly. He could already tell that Dale's temper was much worse than Robert's had been.

Dale's face went completely blank for a moment before he started to laugh. "You killed him with an axe huh? Well I guess I'll have to repay the favor."

Jeff gulped. "Wh-what do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is, once dear old Matt comes to save the day, which we both know he will, he's not getting out of this basement alive. Or in one piece for that matter."

Jeff shook his head violently. "No please, I killed your father! Matt didn't do anything!"

Dale grinned. "Oh Jeff…you act like I care about that little detail." He shoved Jeff down to the ground next to Randy. "Now let's get started. I've got so many things I want to do you and there's only going to be so much you can take before begging me to kill you."

Jeff's lip trembled. _Oh Matty, please get me out of this without getting killed yourself. I really fucked up this time…_


	5. Chapter 5

In the first couple of days after Jeff's escape from Robert, Matt had talked to the police officer who had found him in the first place. The officer had said that Jeff had stumbled out of the woods about six miles from the Richmond city line, and it had also been near an old abandoned gas station that was nearly ruined. Now Matt figured he could find that easily enough, but he was going to need more help searching the woods. But just when he was about to call the Richmond Police Department, he received an interesting phone call from Jeff's cell phone. "Jeff?" he said automatically, hoping that his brother had changed his mind.

"Actually it's Dale," a strange man on the other line said. "I think you knew my father Matthew. Does the name Robert ring a bell?"

_Shit!_ Matt's mind screamed. One of his worse fears had been realized: Jeff had gotten caught. "What have you done to my brother you bastard?" he growled.

Dale chuckled. "Well nothing too terrible yet. We've only really started to have our fun, haven't we Jeff?"

"Matt!" Jeff yelled. He sounded like he was in serious pain. "He's going to kill you! Matt—"

There was the sound of smacking and Jeff let out a cry of pain. "Shut up you little bastard," Dale growled. "You only answer the questions I ask you, do you understand?"

Matt's hands were literally shaking at the moment. It was nearly impossible for him to keep driving and keep a hold of the phone. "You fucking bastard," he said. His voice was so hoarse that it was nearly a whisper. "If you hurt one hair on his head—"

"I already have Matty," Dale said. He was actually laughing. "Now the question becomes, what are you going to do about it? I'll tell you one thing: if you go to the cops and bring them here, Jeff dies automatically. Whether I go to jail or not will be irrelevant. Jeff will be gone forever, and you'll be the one to blame."

"And what if I don't go to the cops? What then?"

"Well then, we'll have ourselves a little fight. It'll be a winner take all kind of fight. Of course, the all in this case will be Jeff and Randy. So what's it going to be? Are you going to call the cops and guarantee Jeff a one way ticket to see your precious mother again, or will you give him the only shot he has of getting out of this basement alive?"

Matt bit his lip. He was going to have to play his cards very carefully here. "I'll come alone," he said. He pulled over and grabbed his notebook out of the backseat. "Tell me exactly where you are."

Dale chuckled and started giving directions to the cabin. Matt wrote them down, his hand shaking the entire time. If the situation hadn't involved Jeff's life, he would have smiled at Dale's foolishness. The saying that he lived by was "Matt Hardy will not DIE". But never in a million years had he ever said that "Matt Hardy will not LIE". He _usually_ didn't, but tonight was going to be the exception. He would initially walk into that cabin alone, but he had no intention of staying that way for very long. He knew something could go horribly wrong, and he did not want Dale to take all, no mattered what happened to him. _Hang on Jeff,_ he thought as he hung up the phone and started driving again. _I'm on my way. Just hold on for awhile longer._

XXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff pulled his knees up to his chest and shivered in the cold. Dale had cut off his clothes with a knife and then had disappeared into another part of the basement. Unfortunately, Dale's phone call with Matt had gone the way the psycho wanted it to. Matt was coming here alone, and now Jeff was terrified for his older brother. "Please," he begged as he helplessly pulled against his chains. "Leave Matty out of this. I killed your dad. Matt had nothing to do with it."

Dale stepped out of the shadows and revealed that he was holding a hot iron. "He's so pretty when he begs, isn't he?" he asked Randy.

Randy licked his lips and attempted to sit up. "You're going to fucking rot in hell, you sick bastard."

Dale pretended to look shocked and hurt. "Randy! I can't believe you would say such a thing to me! After all I've done for you, is this how you treat me?"

_Be careful Randy_, Jeff said silently, hoping he could somehow pass the message to the younger man telepathically. _His dad used to ask that kind of question right before he really hurt me. You've got to watch what you say._

Either Randy got the message from the look on Jeff's face, or that had been all the bravdo he had had left. He just kind of slumped back down and closed his eyes. Jeff felt bad for him. He looked so broken and helpless. It made Jeff forget what an asshole he was half the time.

"That's better," Dale said. He sat down next to Jeff and put the hot iron just inches from the helpless man's body. "This whole thing has really spiraled out of control Jeff," he said sadly. "I was never supposed to kill Matt. Dad was just supposed to have you and I was supposed to have Randy and we would all be happy."

Jeff glared at him. He knew he had never been happy under Robert's control, and he doubted very much Randy was very happy at the moment. "How the hell can you do this to people?" he asked.

Dale just grinned. "I'm a monster Jeff. I may look and sound like a real human, but I'm a monster at heart. Hurting people…making them helpless…making them scream…" The iron was getting closer and closer to Jeff's chest. "It's my favorite thing in the world to do." He looked over at Randy. "He's starting to look like death warmed over." He looked over at Jeff. "Let's give him a little break, shall we?"

Jeff screamed as the iron finally made contact with his chest. It hurt so bad that he couldn't take it. He just started screaming and trying to somehow kick his way free, but it was no use. He was trapped, and Dale was far from done. In fact, Dale was only just getting warmed up…and if Matt didn't hurry, Jeff knew he was going to be broken all over again.


	6. Chapter 6

Jeff's throat felt so raw from constantly screaming in pain. It felt like he had been stuck in the basement for days, but in reality, it had probably only been a few hours. He wanted so badly just to pass out and not feel anything else, but Dale made sure to keep him conscious. Dale wanted him to suffer for as long as possible. Matt still hadn't arrived and Jeff was hoping that he wasn't coming. He didn't want his brother to die at the hands of Dale. He didn't want the guilt of Matt dying to save him.

"Damn it, I left it upstairs," Dale muttered. He had been searching for something for the past several minutes, and it seemed like he had finally realized that it was not in the basement. He glared at both Jeff and Randy. "You two stay here."

_Yeah, like we can actually fucking GO anywhere,_ Jeff thought bitterly as Dale went upstairs. He licked his dry lips as he looked at Randy. The Legend Killer looked like he was about to get sick. He had been watching what had been happening to Jeff for the past several hours, but he hadn't really said anything about it.

"Randy," Jeff said weakly as he tried to sit himself. "How did you get here?"

Randy shook his head. "I don't know. I got attacked in a parking lot and someone hit my head really hard. When I woke up, I was stuck in some cage and that was where Dale bought me." What about you? Did that happen to you when you disappeared?"

Jeff nodded. "Yeah, but I didn't get hit in the head. I just got a bag thrown over it so I couldn't see." He shuddered. "I still don't know who those guys really were."

"Fuck, so it probably doesn't even matter if we get out of this, does it?" Randy asked. He sounded like he was about to break down completely. "They'll just get us again until we fucking die."

Well that was just an unpleasant thought all together. Jeff didn't even want to think about that. He shrank back as Dale came back downstairs with the thing he had been looking for. It was the biggest fucking hunting knife he had ever seen in his life.

Dale grinned and held it up playfully. "Do you like it? It was a Christmas present from my dad about four years ago. I only pull it out on special occasions." He turned Jeff over on his back and held the captive man's head down as hard as he could so he would have an even harder time struggling than he already would have. "And I figured that your presence here was enough of a special occasion to warrant my special knife."

Jeff whimpered and tried to fight. He remembered how much Robert had loved knives, and he was in absolutely no hurry to see how much Dale loved him. But despite his attempts to resist, he couldn't stop the blade of the knife being pressed up against his back. He bit his lip and tried to muffle his screams as Dale began to carve a word into his back. It wasn't a short word either, and soon Jeff found himself screaming again anyway. He didn't beg though, but it wasn't due to the lack of wanting to. He just knew that Dale wasn't going to stop if he did, and he wanted to retain at least a little dignity if he was going to die in this fucking basement.

Dale chuckled to himself as he finished up. "There we go, it's perfect. You want to know what it says Jeff?"

Jeff didn't say anything. All he could focus on was his pain. His back hurt so bad that he was crying from the pain.

Dale grabbed Jeff's hair roughly and gave it a good yank. "I asked you a question Jeff," he hissed. "I fucking hate being ignored."

"Wh-what does it say?" Jeff managed to ask. The words could barely be heard, but they seemed to be enough for Dale.

"They say…MURDERER." Dale paused dramatically before bursting out in a wail of laughter that chilled Jeff to his very core. _Oh God, let me just die quickly. I can't take much more of this…_

XXXXXX

Mark sighed in relief as the car up pulled up in front of the old abandoned gas station. The two occupants inside of it had taken the quickest flight out to meet up with him, and they had only stopped to pick up some weapons on the way. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this," he said as he got in the backseat.

Mark and Glenn looked back at him. "Yeah, we know you do Hardy," Mark said as he began driving again. "We also know how much you love that brother of yours. I even like that little bastard…most of the time."

"You sure you know where this place is?" Glenn asked Matt.

Matt nodded. "I've got the directions…now I'm just praying we get there before it's too late."


	7. Chapter 7

Jeff was barely conscious when he heard the knock on the front door. He tried to lift his head up as Dale went up to answer it, but he was too weak. Dale's methods of torture were as painful as Robert's had been, and he just wanted it to be over. He was ready for Dale to just kill him so his body wouldn't hurt anymore.

"I think Matt's here," Randy said. He was staring up at the ceiling like he could see right through it. He didn't sound overly relieved by the thought of Matt's arrival. "Damn it Jeff, what is it with you Hardys and your heroics? Are you two trying to get yourselves killed?"

Jeff just shivered and curled up into the fetal position. He really wish he had his clothes back on right now. It was cold down in this basement. "It wasn't supposed to go this way," he said in a shaky voice. "I was supposed to just get you and get out. I wasn't supposed to get caught. Now we're all going to die and it's my fault."

Randy shook his head. "It's not your fault Jeff. Dale's a fucking loony. He knew you were going to be coming because you didn't want people to go through what you did." He tried to pull against his chains, but they wouldn't budge. "I appreciate the effort. It was dumb as hell, but I appreciate it."

They both heard the front door open and even though they couldn't hear what was being said, they could tell Dale and Matt were exchanging words. Jeff's heart was beating a hundred miles an hour inside his chest. He was terrified for his older brother. _Please don't die Matty. Please don't die because of me. I won't be able to live with myself if you do._

They heard footsteps coming back towards the basement, but then they heard the sound of somebody getting attacked. Jeff nearly stopped breathing, fearing it was Matt on the wrong end of the beating. He strained his ears to listen as best as he could, but all the sounds were too muffled to make out what was going on. He did hear the door being kicked open, although he had no idea who could possibly be coming in right now.

"I don't like this," Randy groaned. He looked as scared as Jeff was. "I really don't like this."

Jeff nodded. "Me neither. Matt! Matt!"

"Jesus Christ Jeff, what are you doing?"

"Matt!" Jeff wasn't going to answer Randy's question, because the answer should have been obvious: he needed to find out what was going on with his brother. "Matt!"

The basement door opened, causing the two captives to flinch. For one horrible moment, they thought it was Dale. But they soon saw that it was Matt, and besides from a busted lip, he didn't have a scratch on him. "Oh fuck," he muttered when he saw the state Jeff was in.

"Matty," Jeff said weakly. It had actually taken a lot of energy to yell just a few seconds ago. "Get me out of here."

Randy pointed to the wall across the room. "There's a set of keys hanging from that hook over there. You got to get us free before Dale gets down here."

Matt shook his head as he walked to where Randy was pointing and grabbed the keys. "Dale is not going to hurt anyone ever again," he growled. "Not if Mark and Glenn have anything to say about it."

Jeff looked at his older brother in surprise. "Mark and Glenn?"

"Yeah." Matt got Jeff and Randy unchained. "You do not go on a suicidal rescue mission without some damn backup. Damn it Jeff, if you were not hurt right now, I would smack you for being so damn stupid."

Jeff knew that Matt really wasn't angry at him. It was just his way of expressing his fear while trying to hide it at the same time. Jeff gratefully hugged Matt and buried his face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry. Matty I'm sorry."

Matt sighed. "It's okay Jeff. Just come on." He helped Jeff get up on his two feet, but he had to keep holding on to him because Jeff wasn't strong enough to keep standing by himself. "Randy, do you need help to?"

"I got it," Randy said stubbornly. He stood up and was wobbly for a few minutes, but he managed to find his balance. "God my fucking body hurts." He took a couple of tentative steps. "You know what? Fuck the Wellness Policy. When we get out of here, I'm taking the first pain pill I see."

The three of them slowly made their way up the stairs. Just as they were going through the basement door, they saw Mark grab Dale by the head and snap his neck like it was nothing. Jeff winced, not because he was upset that it happened, but because the sound had been so damn disgusting.

"God I hope the cops don't figure out you did that," Randy said.

"Fuck the damn cops," Mark growled. "He deserved it." The Deadman kicked Dale's body and then checked over both Randy and Jeff. "You two need to go to a hospital."

Jeff groaned. He hated hospitals. "I don't want to go."

Matt shook his head and scooped Jeff completely into his arms. "Sorry little brother, but it'll be for your own good. You'll thank us for it later."

"Yeah sure, whatever you say Matt." Jeff couldn't muster as much sarcasm as he had been intending to because he was too busy passing out in the safety of his older brother's arms.


	8. Chapter 8

Matt, Mark and Glenn took Jeff and Randy to the nearest hospital. Matt paced the waiting room the entire time the two injured men were being examined. He felt like a gigantic failure. This wasn't supposed to happen ever again. The whole thing with Robert had destroyed Jeff, and Matt almost hadn't gotten him back. The past several months had been them trying to rebuild their lives, and he had felt like they had been succeeding somewhat. But now Dale could have ruined everything and Matt felt partly to blame. He felt like he should have tried harder to protect Jeff because he should have known better than to think Jeff was just going to stand by and let someone get hurt like he had, even if that someone was Randy.

"Hardy, would you sit down for two seconds?" Mark asked. "You're making me motion sick."

"I can't sit down," Matt muttered. He was too worried about Jeff to even think about sitting down. "I should have stopped him. I should have tied him down and kept him with me."

"Well it's a little late to be thinking of that now," Glenn pointed out. He stood up and used his head to tell Matt to look behind him. "The doctor's here Matt. You should probably go and talk to him."

Matt's heart rate began to sky rocket as he slowly approached the doctor. "How are they?" he asked.

"Physically they're going to be fine," the doctor said. "Mr. Orton will need to stay here a couple of days while we re-hydrate him and get some food in his stomach. We also needed to re-break a bone in his arm because it didn't heal right, so it will be awhile before he wrestles again. As for Mr. Hardy, he's going to need to stay here and recover. He was tortured pretty badly before you managed to get to him.

Matt had to resist the urge to snap at the doctor for pointing out the obvious. "How is he right now mentally?"

"Right now, they're both pretty traumatized. Mr. Orton seems to be in shock somewhat, although Mr. Hardy's presence is comforting to him. Now Mr. Hardy is asleep right now, so we won't know the full extent of the mental state until he wakes up."

Matt sighed and thanked the doctor. He motioned for Mark and Glenn to follow him as they headed to Jeff and Randy's room. "If Jeff is fucking broken again, I'm going to hunt down every person responsible in kidnapping him and Randy in the first place," he growled.

Mark smirked evilly. "Well I'll be right there with you Hardy. I don't like the thought of people out there just waiting to kidnap wrestlers. That's just fucked up."

Glenn nodded in agreement. "I'm on board with that."

"Well I'm glad you two are so damn supportive," Matt said as he shook his head. "But I want to wait until Jeff wakes up until I go kill people. I don't want to leave his side right now."

Randy looked up at all of them as they entered the room. Matt wasn't sure if it was the lighting or maybe it was because he was so preoccupied with Jeff before, but he suddenly realized that the Legend Killer looked as bad as Jeff did when he had escaped Robert's clutches. "This is probably the stupidest question I can ask right now, but how are you feeling?" Matt asked.

"It feels like I got tortured in a basement for several months," Randy replied. He sounded like he was all drugged up (which he probably was). "How else am I supposed to feel?"

"Well it's nice to know this hasn't affected your attitude very much," Glenn said cheerfully.

Randy shook his head. "I'm not trying to sound like an ass, I just--"

"Dude, I get it," Matt interrupted. He pulled up a chair and sat between Randy and Jeff's beds. "I'd probably be thinking the same damn thing if someone asked me that after I went through that shit."

Randy glanced over at Jeff, who was still sleeping. "You think he's going to be okay?"

Matt sighed. "I hope so. I've worked hard to help get him back to as much of his old self as he possibly could get after the first go around. I don't know what I'm going to do if this ruined it all."

Mark sat down in one of the other chairs. "Is Sam coming here soon."

Randy nodded. "The doctor said they called her while they were working on my arm." He looked happy yet anxious about the thought of seeing his wife. "What the hell am I supposed to say to her? How the hell do I explain what the hell I went through?"

"I think you just have to do it," Matt said. "You can't try to bottle it in. That's what nearly killed Jeff last time." He gently stroked his younger brother's hair. He remembered the pain of watching Jeff in his broken state just like it was yesterday. It had hurt worse than anything he had ever experienced before, and he didn't wish that pain upon anyone else. Well, okay, maybe he wished that pain upon the mysterious men that had kidnapped Jeff in the first place and put him in Robert's clutches. He wished those bastards all the pain and suffering the world could give them.

Mark sighed and studied Matt carefully. "He's going to be okay Hardy," he said in a low voice. "He survived this once and he can do it again."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." But deep down inside, doubts were still beginning to rise. Would Jeff really be alright? _We won't know until he wakes up…and all I can do till this is hope for the best._


	9. Chapter 9

Jeff woke up feeling like complete and total shit. His body ached and he felt sick to his stomach. He groaned, remembering everything that had happened back in Dale's cabin. He had fucking gotten tortured yet again. Fuck, this wasn't fair. Why couldn't he get a break for once? Why was he always the fucking victim? "Matt," he called out. "Matt where are you?"

"I'm right here," Matt assured him. He grabbed Jeff's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I'm here for you Jeff."

That made Jeff feel at least a little bit better. It was good to know that Matt was here with him, no matter what happened to him. "I was so scared," he whispered.

"I know you were," Matt whispered back. He kissed Jeff on the forehead. "I was scared too. I thought I was going to lose you again."

"You almost did," Jeff said. "I didn't think I was going to last much longer down there in that basement." He looked over at the bed next to him and saw that Randy was there. "Hey Orton."

"Hey." Randy had a guilty look on his face, which was just plain strange for him. "Look man you didn't have to come after me like that. At least not all alone."

"I know, but I have a tendency to be kind of reckless," Jeff admitted. He didn't really regret going to save Randy, but he sure as hell regretted trying to do it all by himself. It was his own damn stupidity that allowed Dale to get him and torture him like Robert did.

"Kind of?" Mark said under his breath. "I think you're more than just kind of reckless boy." He didn't really sound mad; he just sounded like an exasperated father. "Hardy, you scare the living shit out of me sometimes. I hope you are aware of that."

Jeff sighed and looked down at his lap. "Sorry Mark."

Mark patted him on the head. "Don't be sorry. Just be smart. Use the crazy thing called common sense that we have been trying to instill for you for God knows how long now."

Matt glared at the Deadman. "I thought we agreed that you wouldn't lecture him right away."

Glenn shook his head. "He was going to do it no matter what you said. He wants to get to Jeff while he's listening."

"Who said I was listening?" Jeff asked jokingly. At least he had meant to sound like he was joking. His voice wasn't really working right though, so his statement just came out all hoarse and raspy.

Mark rolled his eyes. "Little punk."

"Old geezer."

"Hey! Don't hit below the belt you bastard."

The door to their room opened and a split second later, Sam came in carrying little Alanna in her arms. There was about a moment of silence and Jeff suddenly found himself feeling a little uncomfortable. He felt like this was supposed to be a private moment between a husband and a wife, and he was neither of those things in this situation.

"Oh Randy," Sam said softly. She practically jumped from the doorway and into Randy's arms, nearly crushing Alanna between the both of them. "I've been so worried! I've missed you so much and I--"

"Ribs hurt, ribs hurt!" Randy quickly interrupted. "You got to lean back a little bit sweetie."

Sam quickly did that, much to Alanna's displeasure. She wanted a lot more contact with her daddy. "Dada! Dada!" she cried out.

Jeff turned away from the family reunion. He didn't want to spoil it for Randy by telling him that this was still far from over. There were still the nightmares and the constant paranoia of being taken again to deal with later on. Because honestly, deep in his heart, Jeff was still really afraid. He had buried it before and kidded himself that with Robert gone, nothing could happen to him again. But this whole thing with Randy had changed that completely. It had served as a reminder that whoever had taken him and Randy and had placed them in the clutches of Robert and Dale were still out there somewhere. They were still free to take anyone they chose, even them once again if it was desired.

Matt seemed to sense what Jeff was thinking, because he immediately leaned in closer to his younger brother. "Jeff listen to me," he said quietly so nobody else could hear them. "You need to stay strong for me. I will do anything to protect you. You know that. If anyone tries to come after you again, I will find a way to stop them. Okay?"

Jeff wanted to believe Matt's words. He really did. But he couldn't stop the doubts that were forming in his mind. He couldn't stop the fear that was rising up inside of him. He knew Matt couldn't protect him forever. Sooner or later, whoever had targeted Jeff and Randy could get tired of Matt's interference and they could take him next. And if they took Matt, Jeff wasn't sure if he could save his brother like Matt had saved him before.

Despite all this running through his head though, he knew what Matt needed to hear. "Okay," he said with a nod. "Thanks Matty."

"Any time Jeff. Any time."


	10. Chapter 10

Once Jeff was released from the hospital, he ended up staying at Matt's again. He knew he wasn't going to feel completely safe no matter where he went, so he figured he would just stay with the one person who had gone through this with him before and would stay by his side no matter what. No matter how much he worried about Matt getting taken next, he still needed his older brother by his side. He needed any strength that Matt could possibly give him at the moment.

Two days went by and Jeff felt like he was trapped in a fog. He wanted nothing more than to move on with his life, but every time he closed his eyes, he was back in that basement, getting tortured all over again. Sometimes he was with Robert, other times Dale, and then sometimes the two of them were hurting him together. He tried to tell himself that these were all just dreams and he had to get a hold of himself because he couldn't fall apart like he had before. But it was hard to do, because he was constantly looking over his shoulder, waiting for a threat that was looming in the shadows.

Finally, on the third day, Matt obviously had stood by and just worried from the sidelines long enough. As soon as Jeff woke up that day, he found himself being sat down on the couch and he just knew what he was about to hear. "Matt, I'm trying to be okay," he said before Matt could open his mouth. "I really am. I know what I put you through last time and I don't want to hurt you like that again. I don't want to go all suicidal and scare you like I did before."

Matt sighed. "I know you don't want that Jeff. I don't want that either. But I know very well that you're not okay. I know you're probably going to get mad at me for saying this because you don't want to hear it, but I think you should go to therapy for what happened to you."

_He was right: I DIDN'T want to hear that, _Jeff thought to himself as he sighed. "What's therapy going to do Matt?" he asked, not wanting this to turn into a fight, but knowing already that his stupidity would do just that. "It's not going to change anything. It's not going to make the nightmares go away. It's not going to make me feel better."

"Can you at least just give it a shot Jeff?" Matt asked. "I don't want you falling apart completely on me again. I almost lost you because you didn't know how to cope with this shit last time and I can't let you sink down that same black pit of despair."

Jeff looked down at his feet. He wanted to give in to his urge to tell Matt to take that idea and shove it where the sun didn't shine, but he knew that would only make him feel worse in the long run. And he also knew that Matt was probably right about this, but he couldn't give in just yet. It just wasn't his style. "Let me think about it, okay?" he asked quietly. "If I go, I want it to be because _I_ think it's going to help me."

Matt nodded. "Okay. I'll let you think about if for a few days. I've got some numbers of some doctors that are supposed to be the best in the country if you change your mind."

Jeff just kind of nodded along and then left the room. He was going to head out into the back yard to sit around under a tree and maybe doodle in his notebook a little bit when the phone rang. "I've got it Matty!" he yelled. He picked up the phone and cleared his throat. "Hello?"

"Jeff? It's Randy."

"Oh hey," Jeff said. He frowned as he took a cookie out of the cookie jar. He wasn't sure if he liked the anxious tone of voice Orton was using. "What's up man?"

"Um….look, it's completely possible that I'm being stupid," Randy stammered out. "But I don't know who else to talk to about this."

"Randy, what's going on?" Jeff asked. "You're scaring me here dude."

"I think I'm being watched Jeff. This car keeps going by my house over and over again during all times of the night and day. It doesn't do anything but keep driving by, but every time I see it, I swear to God that the people in it are looking right at me."

Jeff felt like he was rooted to the spot he was standing at. Hearing Randy say that kicked Jeff's paranoia up several notches. He finally forced his legs to run to the window and look out it. To his horror, there was a black car with tinted windows just sitting a little ways out on the road, and he could literally feel several pairs of eyes watching the house. "Oh fuck!" he moaned hoarsely, quickly putting the curtain back into place and practically sprinting upstairs to the bedroom he was staying in.

"What?" Randy said. It sounded like he was panicking now. "What? What's going on? Jeff!"

"Someone is watching Matt's place too," Jeff said as he entered his room and dived under the bed. He wasn't sure what good that would actually do, but he didn't know what else to do. "You're not being stupid Randy. I think we're both supremely fucked."

"Fuck!" Randy cursed. "What the fuck are we going to do?"

"I think we need to call the cops. It's the--" Jeff stopped talking as the phone went dead. He dropped it and peeked out from under the bed. The lights were all off now. The power had been cut off. Dread filled Jeff and he got out from under the bed completely. "MATT! WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM!"

"JEFF WHAT ARE--" Matt's voice was interrupted by the sound of the windows breaking the front door being kicked open.

And that was when all hell officially broke loose.


	11. Chapter 11

Matt jumped about a foot in the air when he heard his windows breaking. Lucas began barking his little head off but Matt didn't know where his beloved dog was at the moment. Jeff grabbed his hand and tried to pull him into his bedroom, only to find a guy in a ski mask already halfway in the window. "No!" Jeff shouted. He let go of Matt and ran at the guy, shoving him right back out the window.

"Jeff!" Matt said in disbelief. "What--"

"Matt the door!"

Matt didn't get a chance to even turn around. What felt like the butt end of the gun hit him on the back of the head, and he went down to the ground. He heard Jeff scream and he tried to force himself back up to his feet, but he just got kicked back down for his troubles. More and more men in ski masks kept coming into the room; there had to be at least a half a dozen surrounding them. He tried to fight as his hands were tied behind his back and a black bag was thrown over his head, but it was no use. He could hear Jeff yelling and pleading with whoever the hell was in there with them and then he heard the unmistakable sound of a slap and Jeff's cry of pain. "Leave him alone!" he shouted angrily. "You keep your fucking hands off of him!"

"Shut the fuck up," one of the men growled. He kicked Matt on the spine. "Nobody wants to hear from you."

Matt didn't give a shit who wanted to hear from him. He managed to roll over on his back and started kicking his feet wildly. He could feel his feet making contact with legs but soon hands were holding him down and tying his feet together. "Jeff!" he yelled as he was picked up. "Jeff!"

"Matt!" Jeff sobbed. "Matt help me!"

"Damn it, are we going to have to duct tape their mouths shut too?" one of the men asked.

"Forget that shit," another one replied. "We'll just toss them in the trunk so we won't have to hear them."

Matt groaned and tried to fight the many hands that were on him. That whole trunk thing did not sound good. He and Jeff were not going to fit comfortably in a trunk together and that would also ensure that they would have even less of an idea of where they were going. He tried to fight some more, but with both his hands and feet all tied up, it did even less good than before. He felt himself being carried out of his own house, wincing at the sound of Jeff screaming at the top of his lungs and Lucas barking up a storm. The fact that they lived out in the damn country was coming back to bite them in the ass at the moment. Unless one of their friends or family members were just happening to come by, nobody was going to see them get taken. And that was bad because Matt had absolutely no idea how he was going to get to a phone and call the cops. His cell phone had been charging on the desk in his office when the home invasion had gone down. The only thing he could hope for at this point was that Jeff would have his and they could get their hands untied long enough to use it.

Matt's thoughts were interrupted by being unceremoniously dropped into what was probably the trunk of a car. Just seconds later, he could feel Jeff being dropped him with him, and then the trunk was closed behind him. Matt instantly recognized that this was going to be even worse than he thought it would be. The majority of Jeff's body weight was on his legs and he couldn't really shift his upper body around that well.

"Oh God, this is bad," Jeff groaned. He was trying to move around to the best of his abilities. "We have to get out of here Matt."

"I know we do," Matt agreed. "But I don't see that happening. I think we might be trapped here until we're let back out."

That was the wrong thing to say to Jeff. He began to make a whining sound and he tried kicking his feet up. "Help!" he shouted as loud as he could. "Somebody help us!"

"I don't think anyone's going to hear us," Matt said. "These assholes are driving too fast for anyone to listen to us."

Jeff began to hyperventilate. "Oh fuck, I can't go through this again. I can't do it. Russ and Dale were bad enough."

"I know," Matt said. He tried to shake his head around in an attempt to get the hood off his head. "I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe and get us out of this, okay? You just need to trust me."

"But what if you can't?" Jeff asked. "What if we end up getting separated and nobody figures out we're gone? Who the hell is going to save us then? What if--"

"Jeff, I know you have every reason to panic right now, but can you please shut up for two seconds?" Matt asked. He hated snapping at his baby brother, but he couldn't listen to Jeff fall apart right now. "I need to try to think of a way to get us out of this."

Jeff shut up but that didn't help Matt think. He tried and tried, but nothing good sprang into his mind. No matter which way he looked at it, they were stuck in this situation until they could get out of the trunk of this car.

And hopefully by then, it wouldn't be too late to get the fuck out of this mess.


	12. Chapter 12

Jeff didn't know for sure how long he and Matt were trapped in the back of the van. He just knew that he was absolutely panicking at the moment. One of the men had taken his cell phone away while they were being dragged out of the house and he knew Matt didn't have his, so they couldn't call for help. When the van finally stopped and the men in the ski masks opened up the door, he was ready to just die right then and there. He couldn't go through this again. He didn't want to be sold to someone like Robert or Dale and get tortured yet again. There was no way he could take it one more time.

Matt tried to fight as they were roughly dragged out of the van. Jeff was too scared to though. He wanted to beg for him and Matt to be let go, but he knew those attempts would be futile. These men didn't want to let them go. If that had been on the agenda, they never would have been taken in the first place. If they were going to get out of this, they needed to find a way to sneak away so they could run like hell.

Jeff whimpered as he and Matt were dragged into a warehouse. He knew this place. It was where he had been brought the first time he had been taken. It was where Robert had "won" him in an auction. He could see other men and women kept in cages, but he didn't get a good look at any of them. He and Matt were dragged into a room that looked like it had been converted into an office. Randy and Sam were there, and they both looked like they had been through hell.

"Mother fucker!" Matt yelled as he and Jeff were unceremoniously pushed down to the ground. He turned around to yell at their kidnappers, but the men were already out the door and locking them in the room.

Jeff gulped and looked around. He hadn't been in this room before. "Who's office is this?" he asked Randy.

Randy shook his head. "I don't know. I think it might be the head boss's, but that's just a guess."

Sam hung on to Randy tightly. She looked so freaked out and Jeff felt bad for her. "What is this place?" she asked in a small voice. "Who are these people and what do they want with us?"

Jeff sighed. "This place is like an auction place. These guys, whoever they are, they take the people they capture and sell them to the highest bidder. Or at least that's what they did to me before."

"Although with us being in the boss's office, I have a feeling we're in more trouble than that," Matt said. "I think they're pissed about you and Randy being free and Dale and Robert being dead."

Jeff shuddered. He didn't want to think about that. He knew there was a good chance that whoever put together this entire operation was possibly worse than any of the clients or the henchmen, which just didn't bode well for them.

Randy groaned and glared at Matt. "Would you shut up? You're scaring Sam…and me."

Matt shook his head. "Sorry Orton, but I'm in a pretty pessimistic mood right now and I fully intend on staying that way." He stood up and tried to get his hands free from his restraints. "We've got to find a way out of here. Is there a phone in here somewhere?"

"We haven't seen one," Sam said slowly. "Although we kept getting checked on earlier, so we never got much of a chance to look around."

Matt was going to say something in response to that when the door opened again. In walked in the last person Jeff even would have thought he would have seen. "_Bischoff?_" he squeaked. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Do not tell me you're in charge of this entire thing," Matt growled. "Or I swear to God, when I get my hands free, I'm going to fucking throttle you."

Bischoff just calmly sat down at his desk. He didn't seem bothered that his life had just been threatened. "I had you brought in here because we have a little problem," he informed them.

"Yeah, we've been kidnapped," Randy snapped. "I think that goes beyond just a little problem."

"Hey, it was nothing personal," Bischoff said. "My only job here is to make sure things go smoothly. I usually don't get involved in the actual kidnapping. This is the first time in a long time I've had to do something like this."

"So you did want us here right now," Sam stated.

He nodded. "You've all become a little too problematic. I let Robert slide because he was in your house and he knew his own death was a risk and accepted that. But Dale on the other hand--"

"Dale was a piece of shit, just like his father," Matt growled. "He deserved what he got."

Bischoff shrugged. "Maybe, but I've got a business to run, and having people out to kill my clients is not good for business." He reached for something in his desk. "I promised my uncle before he died that I would keep this operation up and running as best as I could. And unfortunately for you, that means I need to personally take care of any major complications."

Jeff gulped. This was really bad. Bischoff probably had a gun and they couldn't even defend themselves. _Oh fuck, we're going to need a miracle to get out of this._

Just as Matt and Randy were going to recklessly throw themselves at Bischoff even with their hands handcuffed, the office door was kicked open violently. The two people who entered were more than the miracle that was needed.

"Hello Eric," Mark said as Glenn closed the door behind him. The Deadman cocked his shotgun and pointed it at the weasel's head. "Let's have a nice chat, shall we?"


	13. Chapter 13

Matt stared at Mark and Glenn in shock. "How the hell did you guys get here?" he asked in disbelief. While he loved their sense of timing, to say he was surprised to see them would be an understatement.

"Bischoff here tried to have us taken out of our house too," Glenn explained. "But luckily, our trusty guard dog James was right there to back us up and he helped us take care of the goons before they could get us."

Jeff frowned. "You guys have a dog named James?"

"He's not actually a dog, he's…you know what? I'm not even going to get into James at the moment. That is just way too long and complicated of a story for me to get into at the moment." He glared at Eric. "What I want to know is, did you really think you were going to get away with this shit?"

Eric held up his hands defensively. "Mark, listen--"

Matt flinched violently as Mark shot Eric right between the eyes with no warning. "Mark, what the hell man?" he finally managed to say after several minutes of stunned silence.

Mark lowered the gun and just shrugged. "He deserved it."

"Well yeah, but don't you think that you'll get in trouble for that? That was not self defense."

"Nobody's going to know we were here," Mark replied. He and Glenn started untying everyone. "This entire place is getting destroyed."

"Marky! Oh Marky! Can I burn these other hostages alive?"

Glenn glared at Mark. "I told you that he was going to ask that. I told you that we should have left him at home, but did you listen to me? Huh? Did you listen?"

"No, because you were nagging like a woman," Mark snapped. "And no James! You are to let the other people go! The people in the cages are not to be burned alive!"

Randy gave Mark a nervous look. "He's just joking right? He really doesn't want to do that whole burning people alive thing, right?"

Mark hesitated for a moment. "Do you want an honest answer or one that isn't going to scare you?"

Matt exchanged a look with Jeff. Matt didn't know what the hell to make of all this. He was glad Bischoff was gone, but the fact was, Bischoff was a well known guy. His disappearance would not go unnoticed for long. And his body could be identified even after it was burned up, and if any piece of evidence could be linked back to them, they were going to be in serious trouble.

Glenn seemed to sense what Matt was thinking because he patted the shorter man on the shoulder. "Don't worry man. They're not going to link a damn thing back to us. If Mark and James can get away with setting a funeral parlor and not even becoming suspects in that case, we can manage this shit."

Matt frowned. "Wait, that actually happened? I thought that was just a storyline."

"It was a real life thing that somehow got mentioned to Vince and he decided to use it. You should know better than anyone about how if real life could be translated into a storyline that will make money and ratings, he'll use it."

"Okay, you have me there," Matt admitted. "But--"

A large, dark haired man poked his head into the room. "You know, as fun as it to listen to your little conversations, if I don't get to set this place on fire within the next five minutes, I will be decapitating someone. I am not even exaggerating or being sarcastic or anything else like that."

Mark rolled his eyes. "James, chill the fuck out for a second. We're going right now."

"Good," James replied. He shook the can of gasoline he was holding. "Because I want to burn this place up."

"Did you free the other hostages?" Glenn asked. He sounded like a parent asking a naughty child about something.

James rolled his eyes. "Yes damn it. They're out and running like hell. Now haul ass before I burn you again."

Glenn gave James an evil glare before storming out. Mark quickly ushered Matt, Jeff, Sam and Randy out before James could even say anything to them. "Sometimes, it's best just to not get a conversation started with him," the Deadman informed him. "He's kind of a freaky person."

"I think we figured that out already," Sam replied. "That was actually pretty obvious when he asked to set people on fire."

Matt wrapped his arm around Jeff. "You going to be okay?" he asked quietly.

Jeff just bit his lip. "Does this mean it's over?" he asked in a voice that was barely even a whisper. "I mean, is this actually over for good now?"

"I think it is," Matt said with a nod. "Bischoff's dead…the flunkies are probably that way too, because I don't see them and there's puddles of blood on the floor…I think it's safe to say we're going to be okay now."

Jeff smiled just a little bit. "I'm glad. Now catch me, because I'm about to pass out."

Matt quickly caught Jeff before he hit the floor. "Damn little brothers," he muttered as he scooped his brother into his arms. "You're lucky I adore you Jeff. I don't usually haul unconscious people around. If you were anyone else, I'd make Randy do it."

"Hey!" Randy said. "I can hear you Hardy!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "Just keep walking Orton. I don't need to hear you bitch right now. I just want to get in a car and get the fuck back home. From this point on, I want my life to be boring. I have had way too much excitement for my life time."


	14. Chapter 14

The fire destroyed the entire building before the firefighters got it out. At least that was what the news said anyway. Jeff and the others didn't stick around long enough to see it for themselves. Randy and Sam needed to get home to their daughter and Mark and Glenn had to take James back to Las Vegas so they could track down James's kids. That left Jeff and Matt to go back to Cameron, which they were more than happy to do. Before they got plane tickets, they called Gil to assure him they were okay. The Legend had definitely got himself all worked up because he had been the one to go to Matt's house and find the only thing inside the trashed place to be Lucas.

Jeff sighed and leaned back in his seat. They had another forty five minutes of their flight left before they landed in Raleigh. Gil and Shannon would be there to pick them up and drive them back to Cameron. Jeff couldn't wait to get there. He just wanted to go back to his normal life as fast as he possibly could.

"You okay?" Matt asked. It had been the first time he had spoken during the entire flight.

Jeff nodded. "I'm okay as I can be. I'm still kind of freaked out, but I guess time will fix it. It did before anyway."

"Yeah, I guess so." Matt shifted around in his seat.

"What's bothering you?" Jeff asked.

"Nothing," Matt lied.

"Come on bro, you're a horrible liar. I know something is bothering you." Jeff frowned when Matt still didn't say what was on his mind. "I'm going to poke you in the ribs until you tell me."

Matt raised his eyebrows. "Okay, are you suddenly five years old again? You haven't done that in years."

Jeff ignored him and just kept poking him over and over again. Matt managed to ignore it for about five minutes before cracking. "Okay, okay, I'll talk. Just please stop that."

Jeff smirked. "I win."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Look, I just feel bothered this whole thing. It just seems like no matter where we turn, there's always people after you."

"But there won't be anymore because those people are all dead now," Jeff pointed out. "I'm safe now Matty."

"Yeah, I know, but it still bothers me that we had to get rescued by Mark. I mean, if he and Glenn hadn't shown up when they did, things would have turned out really badly."

Jeff shuddered. He knew that all too well. He didn't need Matt to point that out. If they hadn't been rescued, them, Sam and Randy would have died. It was not something he wanted to think about at the moment. While he had wanted to die after the whole Robert thing, he was past that now. "I know, but they didn't. That's the important thing here."

"I guess so," Matt admitted. "But still, I should have at least protected you better."

"Matt--"

"Jeff, I'm--"

"If you apologize to me, I will toss you off this plane," Jeff interrupted. "I mean it Matthew. You have no reason to apologize to me. Neither of us could have known that Bischoff would have ordered people to drag us from your house, and I saw how you tried to fight all of them off. The shit happened because those people were sick, but we're free of them now. Can't we just leave it at that?"

Matt smiled just a little bit. "You are an awesome little brother, did you know that?"

"Hey, I always thought I was awesome, so it's nice to hear it every once in awhile."

Matt playfully shoved Jeff's head. "Although that doesn't change the fact that you are one annoying son of a bitch sometimes."

Jeff just stuck his tongue out before resting his head against the window and closing his eyes. He was just imagining himself being at home and just being at peace there. _I really am free this time_, he thought to himself. _And I'm not going to let anyone take that away from me again. Not now, not ever._


End file.
